News Detail
REconnecting with Doc Crabtree
In 1982, Dr. Robert L. Crabtree arrived from the University of Miami as a postdoc to teach AP Biology at RE. Thirty-six years later, he retired from teaching as a legend in the classroom and on RE’s playing fields. By then, everyone knew him simply as “Doc.”
Doc taught introduction to chemistry and anatomy/physiology and co-chaired the science department. He also assisted Owen Paris with cross country and the late Mike Stokes with track and field, then became head coach of track and field when Stokes retired. He was head coach of the girls’ cross country team, and finally, before retiring in 2018, assisted coach Eric Lefebvre with water polo.
RE: You have to tell us how you got “Doc” as a nickname.
DC: My first year at RE, one of the first students I met on campus was Callie Flipse ’84. I walked into the dining hall during lunch time one day and saw the swim team sitting together. They always ate together as a group. I went up to them and asked if they’d mind if I sat with them. After a few weeks, Callie said, “Is it okay if we just call you ‘Doc’?”
RE: Where did you grow up?
DC: I was born in Lancaster, Ohio, then moved to Wooster, Ohio. I graduated from Wooster High School in 1966 and went to Ohio State for a little over two years. I didn’t want to be pre-med, and the classes were enormous – there were 200-300 kids in each lecture! I transferred to Wooster College my junior year where I was a track and field athlete.
RE: What did you do after you graduated?
DC: I went to graduate school at Ohio University and got a master’s in zoology, then got a PhD in neurobiology from Clark University in Wooster, Mass.
RE: How did you end up in Miami?
DC: I was at the University of Miami for five years in post-doctoral programs. My second and third years I received an NIH [National Institute of Health] postdoc fellowship and became a visiting assistant professor at UM where I taught anatomy and physiology to nurses and medical tech students, then neurobiology to physical therapy students.
RE: How did you come to RE from UM?
DC: I knew the department chair at RE who told me I could continue to teach at the level I was teaching at the time. I interviewed with Mrs. [Barbara] Lester, and the rest is history.
RE: Tell us about your family.
DC: I met my wife, Sharon, at UM where she was studying in the geology department. I have two daughters who attended RE, Nicole ’04 and Robyn ’09.
RE: What was your favorite part about teaching at RE?
DC: Overall, it was teaching kids who you could interact with. The kids were fascinating, very serious about what they were doing, and really put you to the test and challenged you to do your best.
RE: What do you miss the most about RE?
DC: I miss the daily interaction with the students. It’s like what Dan Leslie Bowden said at his commencement speech. He said, “I miss you.”
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